Sleep is important!

Sleep is also a crucial thing in helping anxiety, try aiming for between 7 - 9 hours a night. See if you can go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, by getting into a regular routine, your sleep cycles will balance out and you'll start having better quality sleep. Realise that you need the right amount of rest!

Try avoid watching tv, eating or reading in bed, use the bedroom only for sleeping and sex. And try keeping the bedroom as dark as possible to enhance sleep.

If you're a little sluggish during the day, have a snack, preferably some fruit and go for a brisk walk to refresh your mind and body. If you need to have a nap, try for only 30 minutes to 1 hour, never more because you're likely to mess up your natural sleep cycle.

When trying to get off to sleep, if you are finding it difficult, sit up and try doing something boring, like reading the dictionary or writing out a list of names and numbers from the phone book, don't watch tv or get into a rivetting book because you'll stimulate your mind too much and will have heaven's own job trying to settle it again.

Avoid Caffeine during the night too, thats going to stimulate your body and you'll find it harder to get off to sleep. Studies have shown even drinking caffeine drinks in the afternoon can disrupt your sleep.

Avoid alcohol and nicotine, especially later in the evening. Both disrupt the REM stage of sleep and that will stop you having a really deep sleep which is important for your rest.

Exercise - to enhance your sleep, try walking each day in the late afternoon for the best time, this stimulates the serotonin in the brain and will promote a good sleep. Not only that, it will increase your fitness and make you feel better about yourself.